1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a therapeutic device, and more particularly to a self-operated mini therapeutic device that can use pressure wave and magnetic stimulation to prevent and treat venous thrombus.
2. Description of the Prior Arts
According to clinical observation, the peoples after operation, anesthesia, long time bedridden or the disabilities, such as the patients suffering from paraplegia, out of conscious, or the healthy peoples after long time of sitting or standing, they are susceptible to so-called deep venous thrombus which happens in the deep vein at the patients' thigh or buttocks. The thigh muscles lack of exercise or the partial blood vessels are injured or the blood viscosity of the lower part of the body is too high, all these factors will engender the venous thrombus. Clinics show that if a blood clot moves from deep vein to lung, which can lead to sudden death by lung clot, or it will interfere the cardiovascular blood circulation that also endangers the life of the patient.
Humen are susceptible to varicose veins of lower limbs because we walk on two legs, which results in valve failure and stagnant blood. The pregnant women are also susceptible to varicose veins of lower limbs due to the increment of the progestational hormone and hypervolemia.
The solution of eliminating or preventing the above-mentioned symptoms is to improve the blood circulation and make it flow smoothly. The blood circulation depends not only on the cardiac contraction but also on the muscle contraction. Since over half of the muscles are located in lower limbs, the legs play the role of a “second heart”.
In clinical practices or in particular environments, besides medicines can be used to improve the blood circulation, it is also very important to take some auxiliary measures to prevent, control or treat such kind of deceases.
Conventional method is to apply intermittent compression to patient's legs so as to improve the blood circulation. According to a thesis of “External Pneumatic Intermittent Compression on Fibrinolysis in Man” by Allenby et al published in “The Lancet” of Dec. 22, 1973, which discloses that the Fibrinolysis in patient's body will be inhibited after operation, and the pneumatic intermittent compression in the thighs will encourage the fibrinolysis. The author further discloses that the best way of preventing the after-operation venous thrombus is to apply pneumatic intermittent compression to the patent's shank in or after operation.
Furthermore, from hemorheological point of view, the blood viscosity can be decreased only when subjected to enough shearing stresses, especially the blood in the deep vein of the legs needs more high shearing stresses then the blood circulation can be activated and improved. Since the veins have venous valves, the axial shearing stresses in the veins should be maintained in a higher level then the blood circulation runs smoothly.
However, due to the structural limitation of the air sacs of the conventional portable pneumatic therapeutic device for treatment of venous thrombus, which only uses the vertical compression of the air sacs to the body surface. As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,662 of Sep. 18, 2001, wherein a portable self-operated device for deep venous thrombus prophylaxis only has vertical compression on the patient's body so that the viscose blood in the deep and shallow veins will only reciprocate between two or several venous valves, and the blood circulation cannot be improved. Moreover, since the air sac is too big, it needs long time to inflate the air to a desired pressure.
In addition, many documents have disclosed that magnetic stimulation has positive effect on muscle nerves, e.g. Wen-Hau Lin disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,213,933 of Apr. 10, 2001, that magnetic stimulation could stimulate fibrinolysis. However, so far the magnetic stimulation device of prior arts is not portable, let alone a mini therapeutic device with functions of pneumatic compression and magnetic stimulation.
So far, all the devices with the similar functions, whatever portable or not, they have very limited treatment effect due to the strength and the acting level are inappropriate which cannot satisfy the demands of the physiological pulsation of the deep veins and the peripheral nerves and muscle tissues. The way the devices operate is monotonic and some effects are even unsuitable. And the portability of the so-called “portable” is also limited due to the air sacs should be big enough for maintaining useful effect.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional therapeutic device.